Improvement in cans for fruit



MQBRAY.

Cans for Fruit, &c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MELLEN BRAY, OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT I N CANS FOR FRUIT,l &c.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 144,380, dated November 11, 1873; application filed October 11, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MELLEN BRAY, of Newton, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cans for Hermetically `Sealing Fruits, Condensed Milk, and other and also to facilitate the filling and emptying of said cans; and it consists in soldering to the upper end of the body of the can a narrow ring of the same kind of material as the can, but made from a thinner plate, said ring forming an extension of the side walls of the can, and having formed therein a V-shaped groove i extending entirely around the can, the metal of said ring being forced inward for the purpose, thus forming a rib projecting inward, upon which the cover, made to close the whole top of the can, rests, as will be described.

Tin cans have heretofore been constructed `with a small opening in the center of the top,

which was closed by a cap-plate soldered to the metal surrounding said opening, which has sometimes been made of a softer metal than the rest of the can, to facilitate the opening of the can; but the small opening is objectionable on account of the greater difficulty in iilling the can, and, as there is no guide for the knife in opening the can, the opening, when made, is irregular and ragged, besides being small; and, if but a portion of the contents of the can is used when first opened, therevis no good means of closing the opening so as to keep the contents t for use at another time. To obviate these objections and make e an open-mouthed can, the whole top of which may be readily removed with a knife after it has been hermetically sealed-f-which top, by

being reversed, may serve as a sto pple to closethe can, for the purpose of keeping the contents of the can clean and preserving them for future use-is the object ofthis my invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of a can embodying my improvements, and Fig. 2 is a similar section, showing the can after it has been opened, and with the cover turned over and serving as a stopple to close the can.

A is the body of the can, made of ordinary tinned-iron plates, and having soldered to the upper end thereof' a ring, B, of thinner metal of the same kind, about three-eighths of an inch in height, more or less, in or near the center of the height of which, upon the outside thereof, is formed the V-shaped groove B', made by running the ring between a pair of rolls of `the desired form, and forcing the middle portion of the metal of said ring inward toward the center of the circle, and forming a projecting rib upon the inner surface of said ring at the same time that the groove B' is formed upon the outside. 'The ring B, after being made up and having the groove B formed therein, is slipped oniiec` the top of the can-body proper, A, until the rib rests Vupon the end thereof, in which position it is soldered to the body of the can A. G is the cover, made of a diameter to fit the inner diameter of the ring B, and provided with a lip, a, projecting downward therefrom, as shown; and also having the greater part of said cover raised or struck up to a higher level, the raised portion being of a diameter equal to the inner diameter of the rib formed in the ring B, so that, when the can has been opened and the cover is turned onto fthe top of the can, the raised or struck-up portion of the cover C will fit the opening in the can, and serve as a stopple to close the same, as seen in Fig. 2. The cover Gis not secured to the can until the can is filled, when the cover is placed in position within the ring B, with the lip a resting on the rib formed in said ring, and soldered thereto in an obvious manner.

To open the can, a knife is run around the `can in the bottom of the groove B', severing the whole top of the can and onehalf of the ring B, or, say, about one-eighth of an inch of t the vertical heighth of the can, the groove B serving as a guide for the knife, and eiiectually preventing it from being turned from the desired course, thus making it possible to sever the top from the can and leave the can with a smooth even top edge, and a smooth and even circular opening of nearly the f ull diameter of the can, and, at the same time,"leave the portion removed in good Condition to serve as a cover to close the can again and preserve its contents for future use.

In some cases, When light or thin tin plate can be used for the body of the can, the rin g B may be dispensed With, and the groove B may be formed in the body of the can A, near its top edge.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

1. A metallic can, for hermetically sealing fruits or other substances, having the V-shaped groove B formed in and extending around the vertical Wall of the can near its top end, substantially as described.

2. A can, for hermetially sealing fruits or MELLEN BRAY.

Witnesses WM. P. EDWARDS, N. C. LOMBARD. 

